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Pilrgim Sites
Jerusalem:
Church of the Holy Sepulchre (includes Golgotha and the tomb of Christ); Mount of Olives; Church of Pater Noster; Chapel of Ascension; walk the "Palm Sunday Road" to Dominus Flevit; Garden of Gethsemane; Church of All Nations; Temple Area of the Old City; Upper Room; Dormition Abbey; St. Peter in Gallicantu; St. Stephen's Gate; the Pool of Bethesda; & Walk the Via Dolorosa.
Bethlehem: Nativity Church; the Grotto of St. Jerome; Milk Grotto; & the Shepherds' Fields.
Ein Karem: Visitation Church and Church of St. John the Baptist, the birth place of John the Baptist.
Bethany: Tomb of Lazarus & St. Lazarus Church.
Mount Carmel: Church
Qumran: Caves of the Dead Sea Scrolls
Jordan Valley: Baptismal site on the River Jordan
Sea of Galilee: Capernaum; Tabgha, Church of Peter's Primacy; Mount of the Beatitudes; & Duc in Altum Church at Magdala
Cana: Renew Wedding Vows at the Church in Cana
Nazareth: Synagogue & Basilica of Annunciation
Mt. Tabor: Church of the Transfiguration of Jesus.
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A pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Each group leader determines what is important to them and plans an itinerary based on this. Groups led by Kim Brown do a few things differently than most pilgrim groups:
- No free day (our group is together each day, and our tour guide and group leader are with you daily)
- No 1-2 hour lunch breaks (our pilgrims, like everyone else, gets buffet breakfast and dinner, but we skip a sit-down lunch). Our pilgrims bring snacks from home (power bar, nuts, jerky, fruit, etc.) that they can eat as we continue journeying. This allows those 1-2 hours to be spent at sites praying. The bus driver sells bottle water, so access to water is easy.
- Only one major shopping store. Bus drivers, tour guides, and group leaders get a commission from each shop they take you to. But a busload of people can take 1-2 hours shopping each time. So our group only stops at one major store in Bethlehem owned by Christians. At many of the holy sites, there are smaller stores run by religious orders where you can pick up souvenirs, but this allows pilgrims to spend more time praying.
- Before going, we ask each pilgrim to discern a donation they would like to leave at the 30 churches/orders we support in the Holy Land. Most groups only give donations where they celebrate Mass. We collect funds ahead of time and distribute them evenly to our Catholic brothers and sisters, keeping these Holy sites open.
- It's a pilgrimage; we want you to enter into a deeper relationship. Our focus is on Christian sites, and Kim Brown gives spiritual reflections at each of the sites. Because we have 2-3 hours more a day than most pilgrim groups (lunch and shopping time), we spend 20 minutes to 1 hour at each holy site praying.
- The Holy Land is not wheelchair accessible. Pilgrims can expect over the course of a day to walk 10 miles each day. At any one time, it could be about a mile (Way of Cross, Palm Sunday Route, Galilee). So start walking to prepare!
- The Expected Cost is $4,498 (all-inclusive - hotel, airfare, bus, tour guide, site, tips for the bus driver, tour guide, and hotel servers). Additional costs will include travel insurance and donations for Churches (left to each individual to decide the amount). If you do not have a roommate there is an extra charge for a private room.
